Financial officers don't usually win high marks for style, but Booth, 63, is gaining attention for his ability to make Ford into a financial winner consistently. Ford's third-quarter results marked the automaker's ninth straight pretax quarterly profit and 10th straight net profit. Through the first nine months of 2011, Ford earned $6.6 billion in net income on revenue of $101.7 billion. Booth has been tenacious about paying down Ford's restructuring debt. He has kept costs in check and held prices stable.

Financial officers don't usually win high marks for style, but Booth, 63, is gaining attention for his ability to make Ford into a financial winner consistently. Ford's third-quarter results marked the automaker's ninth straight pretax quarterly profit and 10th straight net profit. Through the first nine months of 2011, Ford earned $6.6 billion in net income on revenue of $101.7 billion. Booth has been tenacious about paying down Ford's restructuring debt. He has kept costs in check and held prices stable.